New Delhi, December 22
Tension prevailed in the Chumar sector in Ladakh as around 20 soldiers of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China last week entered the Indian territory near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and pitched their tents in Chepzi area in Ladakh.

A flag meeting was held between Brigadier-level officers at the designated meeting point at Spanggur Gap, 200 km north of Chumar, yesterday. At least 10 tents were pitched by the soldiers.

Army officials denied the incident saying it was a routine flag meeting and refused to confirm if tents had been removed.

Two weeks ago, five Indian shepherds were apprehended from the same sector on the charge of being present in the Chinese territory and allowed them to return only after a flag meeting between the two sides was held. This incident had occurred in the first week of December. It was reported that the horses belonging to the shepherds had strayed into the border and were detained by the Chinese. There is no demarcated alignment of the LAC on the ground.

India and China have 167-year-old boundary dispute. Both sides dispute the alignment of the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control, the name of the de facto border between the two countries. Though the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) was signed in October, Chumar is still tense.

An Indian assessment of tension in Chumar is that Beijing wants to prevent Indian troops from getting a clear eye-view at its highway named G-219.

China's civil and military logistics between restive Tibet and Xinjiang provinces moves on this road. In Chumar, Indian troops get a good sight of the road using the sensor-enabled Long-Range Reconnaissance and Observation System (LORROS)

Last week, Defence Minister AK Antony had said the BDCA was helping in sorting out irksome issues much faster. He said issues such as transgressions were now getting resolved immediately in the wake of the signing of the BDCA, inked when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Beijing.

Antony had said: “Our decision is to maintain peace and tranquility. Whenever any incident takes place... that possibility cannot be ruled out as the boundary is very long, both sides should come together and resolve it amicably.”